Stored-value accounts are associated with product and/or service providers. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the stored-value accounts are associated with wireless telecommunications service providers (sometimes referred to as carriers). For instance, the customer may purchase a $20 PIN to enable $20 of wireless service in a wireless stored-value account.
Stored-value cards, such as prepaid long distance phone cards, are generally used in the telephone industry to allow customers to pre-purchase long distance calling time. Each of the cards has a printed identification number. Associated identification information can be magnetically stored therein or printed in a barcode. The identification number is also stored in a file in a database maintained by the card issuer. In the traditional business model, when the cards are sent to the retail location from which they will be sold, the corresponding records in the database are activated, thus allowing the card to be used immediately by a customer. To use the card as a prepaid long distance card, the customer dials a toll free number to access the card issuer's system, enters the identification number, and then makes the desired long-distance call.
These prior art prepaid phone card systems have several disadvantages. For example, since the cards are active while on the shelf in the retail location, the cards may be stolen by a thief and easily used. One way to address some of the drawbacks of prior art prepaid phone card systems would be to install activation terminals unique to the prepaid card issuer. This is referred to as a “closed system.” U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,109 to Stimson et al. (“Stimson”) discloses such a closed system. In the Stimson system, the cards are not preactivated. Each of the retail locations from which cards are to be sold is provided with a dedicated activation terminal which allows the retail operator to set the value of the card at the time of the sale. The activation terminal connects to the card issuer's system to pass along the value amount and to request activation of the card. Depleted cards can be recharged in the same manner as they are sold. A serious disadvantage of the Stimson system is that it requires single-function dedicated hardware to be installed in each retail location, resulting in a very inflexible and expensive system.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,608 to Dorf (“Dorf”) provides a multifunction card system including a prepaid phone card activating system which allows cards to be purchased in varying amounts and to be recharged without requiring the use of a closed system to handle the transactions. Although Dorf purports to alleviate some of the drawbacks of Stimson by using point-of-sale devices connected to a banking system, it is believed that Dorf fails to verify sources of card activation requests so as to enhance detection of potential security breaches that could ensue in any system accessible to a large number of users.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,185,545 to Resnick et. al. (“Resnick”) provides a single payment card that enables a customer to iteratively add value to a stored-value account by swiping the card at participating merchant terminals. Resnick requires that a customer first contact a central processor to associate the card with a customer account before adding value. The Resnick card cannot be purchased at the point of sale and redeemed for value. I.e., the card itself never has any value.
It is desirable to provide an improved system and method for iteratively adding value to a stored-value account using a single card.
It is further desirable to provide a system and method wherein the central processor handles PIN requests for some carriers that have stored-value accounts that are not stored at and maintained by the central processing entity that distributes and activates the cards.